Painting in VR: Kingspray Graffiti Simulator & Google Tilt Brush

Virtual reality is not just about interacting with people at distance, or engaging with static worlds designed by others – it can also be a place where users are invited to create their own works of art and design. Games and apps like the two featured here (each paired with videos below) are opening up remarkable new digital worlds for creatives to shape as well as explore.

The Kingspray Graffiti Simulator, currently in development, gives players a palette and can of spray paint, adding realism through trips and spraying effects. Walking around the simulated world, artists can paint over and re-tag, then walk around to view other works and step back to enjoy the view.

The Tilt Brush app from Google lets users sketch and draw in three dimensions. While the Graffiti Simulator places you in 3D space painting 2D surfaces, the Tilt brush actually lets you paint in space all around you. In turn, the finished pieces can be experienced from various perspectives by the artist and viewers invited to share the experience.

“Tilt Brush, at its core, is a virtual reality painting application. It creates something anyone can use, intuitively, for kids, artists, and absolutely anyone,” say the app’s developers. “Within the first 30 or 45 seconds, anyone can start VR painting and making marks in space all around them… It allows everyone to see how powerful VR is and how transformative it will be.”